The Grim Reaper's Banquet (1) Part 1

The heavy rain in the mountains had finally stopped.

In spring, the thick ice and snow piled up on the mountain gradually melted under the scorching sun, turning into water and flowing into the stream behind the village. The once-thin stream had turned into a surging river. Jiang Ruonan, who was fetching water by the river, heard the sound of a car engine starting.

This village was remote; usually, they wouldn't see an outsider for months. But this year, just after the beginning of spring, strange things started happening frequently in the village. The Village Chief, left with no choice, had to notify the outside world to ask for help. A few days later, several people were sent from outside to investigate the situation in the village, but it seemed it wasn't going smoothly.

Jiang Ruonan wasn't too concerned about these matters. Carrying water on a shoulder pole, she walked slowly home along the muddy path. As she passed the village entrance, she saw the group of outsiders.

When they arrived, there were four of them, but now only two remained. One was standing in front of the car with the hood open, studying something, while the other stood in the driver's cab, cursing incessantly. He saw Jiang Ruonan in the distance but seemed to get even angrier.

“I think this village is haunted.” The cursing man paid no mind to his surroundings, roaring, “How can we possibly get out of here!!”

“Please don't say that.” The other person had a better temper and was trying to comfort his companion. “I'll take another look, see if I can think of another way...”

“Look at the car, look at the car, what's the use of looking at the car!!” he said. “Who the hell told you not to turn off the headlights? Now look, the battery's dead! How are we supposed to leave? Crawl back?!”

“I told you I turned off the headlights!” The other person, spoken to this way, felt a bit wronged. “The car turned them on by itself!!”

“I don't fucking care who turned them on, if you had checked earlier, would this have happened?!” the man said, slamming his hand heavily on the steering wheel.

Jiang Ruonan was a girl, after all. Seeing the foul-tempered man, she felt a little scared in her heart. Despite carrying the heavy shoulder pole, she couldn't help but quicken her pace. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a tall, dead tree next to the two men. That tree had been standing at the village entrance for many years. Crows were perched densely on its branches. The usually noisy birds weren't chirping; they just stood silently on the twigs, their small, black eyes gazing at the arguing humans below.

Jiang Ruonan felt an ominous aura. The sky was gradually darkening; it seemed there would be another heavy rain in the evening. Thick thunderclouds were brewing in the heavens.

Jiang Ruonan thought, 'Looks like the Village Chief was wrong this time. The village elders were right, outsiders can't quell the Mountain God's anger. After these people arrived, the strange occurrences in the village not only didn't stop but became even more intense. I wonder when it will all end...'

Just as she was thinking this, a bright golden line flashed across the sky. Then, a deafening clap of thunder suddenly crashed by her ears, like a mountain collapsing, shaking the very earth. Jiang Ruonan was so startled by the sound that a lot of water spilled from the buckets on her shoulder. Following the thunder was a heavy, booming crash of something hitting the ground. Jiang Ruonan turned her head and saw that the dead tree standing at the village entrance had fallen, pinning the car and the two people right underneath it.

Jiang Ruonan's eyes widened. She saw a patch of bright red blood spreading across the black soil. Raindrops as large as beans began to fall from the sky, washing the blood into the earth.

......

In the end, Song Qingluo still didn't get to eat the meal Lin Banxia had offered to treat him to.

Lin Banxia wasn't surprised. He just said that it was really hard to find a proper job these days, especially one with high pay and good benefits. They were few and far between.

Song Qingluo, whose resume had been rejected more than twenty times, deeply agreed with this.

After Liu Xi resigned, the unit quickly recruited a new partner for Lin Banxia named Zhou Jitong. He was also a recent college graduate who didn't seem very good at communicating with people. On his first job, he threw up violently just like everyone else. Lin Banxia patted his shoulder comfortingly and said he would get used to it after seeing it a few more times.

Originally, with the newcomer, Lin Banxia was supposed to mentor him for a while. But his annual leave was about to expire, so he thought he'd take his vacation and deal with it upon his return, letting the newbie follow another group to get used to the atmosphere first.

Lin Banxia completed the procedures and went home, then began to happily discuss travel plans with Song Qingluo. Song Qingluo was still hesitating about whether to take Lin Banxia, but Lin Banxia seized on Song Qingluo's hesitation and started pestering him relentlessly. The first thing he would say every day after coming home was, 'When are we leaving?'

Song Qingluo, annoyed beyond endurance, gave Lin Banxia an agreement. The agreement stipulated various terms in great detail, including salary, duration, potential dangers, things to be aware of, confidential information, and even the beneficiary of the insurance.

Song Qingluo asked Lin Banxia to read the agreement first before making a final decision.

Lin Banxia read it carefully. His gaze lingered for a moment on the number after 'salary', then he unhesitatingly signed his name and left his fingerprint on the agreement. He even professionally asked Song Qingluo if he needed a copy of his ID.

Song Qingluo shook his head, took the agreement, looked at it, and said, “Who did you put down as your insurance beneficiary?”

“My younger sister,” Lin Banxia said.

Song Qingluo glanced at Lin Banxia. “Your biological sister?”

Lin Banxia said, “No, my cousin.”

Song Qingluo said, “Oh,” and didn't press further about why.

Lin Banxia was quite casual about it. He shared some things about his family, saying his cousin was a very nice person, but unfortunately, his aunt's family was very misogynistic, so she didn't have a good life. If anything happened to him, she would be the only one he couldn't leave behind with a peaceful mind.

Song Qingluo hummed in acknowledgment, put the agreement away, and informed Lin Banxia that they would be leaving in three days, telling him to get his luggage ready.

Lin Banxia nodded happily. He didn't know the destination, nor did he know what he would need to do, but he didn't really care much about these things to begin with.

In other words, there wasn't much he cared about.

Ever since Li Su had a late-night snack with them that day, he became a regular visitor, either coming over to drop things off or to freeload a meal, occasionally bringing Li Ye along.

Under Li Su's supervision, Li Ye shaved off his thick, full beard, revealing a purely Western-style face with sharp, well-defined features. Paired with his emerald-green eyes, he would attract a lot of attention wherever he went. It was just a pity he didn't smile much, so he also looked hard to get along with. Even so, many girls still came up to ask for his contact information.

Song Qingluo was extremely annoyed with these two freeloaders, almost to the point of violence. Fortunately, he and Lin Banxia were about to leave on a long trip, so he managed to tolerate it for a few more days.

Ji Leshui still didn't know what Lin Banxia was going out to do with Song Qingluo. He just thought they were going on a trip and even asked Lin Banxia to bring him back some local souvenirs.

“So, are there any local specialties there?” Lin Banxia asked Song Qingluo.

Song Qingluo said, “Yes.”

Before Ji Leshui could even smile, he heard Song Qingluo's next sentence. Song Qingluo said, “I'm just afraid that if I bring it back, you won't dare to take it.”

Ji Leshui: “...Never mind, I don't want it.” He remembered the various-sized boxes in Song Qingluo's home and decided not to pursue the matter further.

Lin Banxia waved to him, went downstairs, put his luggage in Song Qingluo's car, and asked, “So where are we going?”

Song Qingluo said, “You don't even know where we're going, and you're just leaving with me? Aren't you afraid I'll sell you off?”

Lin Banxia: “Hahahaha, I'm not worth much.”

Song Qingluo gave him a deadpan look.

Lin Banxia fell silent instantly and said cautiously, “We're not going to do anything illegal, are we?”

Song Qingluo: “Heh.”

Lin Banxia: “...”

Song Qingluo said slowly, “Of course we can't do anything illegal.” 'What did you mean by that ‘heh,’ boss?' Lin Banxia thought.

Song Qingluo: “Just kidding.”

Lin Banxia hugged his small luggage fearfully.

Jokes aside, Song Qingluo still explained where they were going. He said it was a rather remote mountain village with poor transportation, requiring a drive of over ten hours to get there.

Lin Banxia asked, “Just the two of us?”

Song Qingluo said, “There are two other colleagues of mine who are already there. We just need to go directly.”

Lin Banxia said, “Then... what do we need to do?”

Song Qingluo casually picked up a file and tossed it in front of Lin Banxia. “Take a look at this first.”

Lin Banxia said, “Oh,” took the file, and began to flip through it carefully. The file contained a detailed record of the village's situation.

This village was located on the border of a certain province, surrounded by mountains, with extremely inconvenient transportation. A dirt road had only been built in the last two years. Because of the poor transportation, the village was very isolated and rarely had contact with outsiders.

However, at the beginning of spring this year, the village's tranquility was shattered.

People in the village started dying continuously. At first, everyone thought they were accidents, but as more and more people died in increasingly bizarre ways, the villagers finally realized that something was wrong and began to seek help from the outside world.

They called the police, and the police also sent people to conduct a preliminary investigation. But they soon realized that this was something they couldn't solve, so it was reported up the chain of command, layer by layer, eventually reaching Song Qingluo and his team.

The file also showed that Song Qingluo's side had already sent a first team over, but the situation was not good. All four people had lost contact, and it was currently presumed that they had most likely been killed.

Left with no choice, Song Qingluo had to go there himself.

Lin Banxia clutched the file, feeling as if he were reading a horror story. He said, “That village only has a total of five hundred-some people, and a tenth of them have already died?”

Song Qingluo glanced at him. “That data is a week old.”

Lin Banxia asked, “Could there be a serial killer hiding in there?”

Song Qingluo said, “I don't know.”

Lin Banxia said, “That doesn't make sense. How could a serial killer silently kill so many people? What's your theory?”

Song Qingluo said, “It might be something that affects human consciousness. It's just a wild guess. We'll know once we get there and see the situation.”

Lin Banxia nodded.

The car got on the highway and drove straight on. Song Qingluo drove for half the day. Fearing he would drive while fatigued, Lin Banxia insisted on driving for the first half of the night.

Song Qingluo agreed, but he didn't sleep either, sitting in the passenger seat and chatting idly with Lin Banxia.

Around five or six in the evening, they arrived at their destination. Song Qingluo didn't rush into the village but instead rested for a night at a hotel in the small town outside the village.

The next morning, while Lin Banxia was still sleeping groggily, Song Qingluo silently led a man and a woman into the room. Both were dressed in casual clothes, but their attitude towards Song Qingluo was exceptionally respectful. The man saw Lin Banxia lying on the bed and asked in a low voice, “Mr. Song, is this your Watcher partner?”

Song Qingluo glanced at them and said faintly, “Mm.”

Half-asleep, Lin Banxia also heard the special word “Watcher.” He woke up instantly but was too embarrassed to sit up, so he pretended to still be asleep.

Meanwhile, Song Qingluo began to converse in low tones with the visitors. The two gave simple self-introductions. The man was named He Huai'an, the woman Mou Xinsi, and both already had extensive work experience.

“What's the situation there now?” After learning their names, Song Qingluo got straight to the point.

“We can only confirm that two are already dead,” He Huai'an said. “The information sent by the remaining two included news of their deaths.”

“How did they die?” Song Qingluo asked.

“One died from a severe allergic reaction, and the other drowned,” He Huai'an said. “The one who died from an allergic reaction does seem to have been an accident. He was bitten by a poisonous insect there, which triggered an allergic reaction, and just like that, he was gone.”

Song Qingluo mused, “And the one who drowned?”

He Huai'an said, “This one is rather strange. They said he suddenly went missing one day while acting alone. By the time he was found, his body was by the water, face down. There were many signs of a struggle near the body, but no clues about a culprit...”

Song Qingluo asked, “Were these two Watchers or Recorders?”

“One was a Watcher, the other a Recorder. Because two people died, the people on that end felt something was wrong and planned to recall the remaining two, but then they suddenly lost contact. They're both currently uncontactable. Judging from past situations...” He Huai'an sighed. He himself was a Recorder, so he naturally knew that Recorders were usually ordinary people like him. A high casualty rate was normal, but if a Watcher died, the situation would be different.